The signature fall event welcomed thousands of University community members to campus for a weekend of joyous celebrations and meaningful conversations.
Meliora Weekend 2024 hosted more than 10,000 registered attendees糖心传媒攊ncluding students and families, alumni, community members, faculty and staff, and distinguished guests糖心传媒攐n the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 campuses. The traditional fall event, which took place September 26糖心传媒�29 this year, combines homecoming, reunion, and parents and family weekend into a unique opportunity for members of the Yellowjacket family to celebrate, reunite, reminisce, socialize, and learn together.
Enjoy this look back at the festivities!
A YELLOWJACKET糖心传媒橲-EYE VIEW: Wilson Quadrangle, transformed into Meliora Village, is where much of the Meliora Weekend magic happened.
RIDING IN STYLE: Attendees enjoyed ferris wheel rides on the Wilson Quad.
MAKING MOVES: Performers and student groups, including Free Flow, performed on one of several stages set up in Meliora Village on the Wilson Quad.
STREET EATS AND BEATS: Revelers gathered outside of the Eastman School of Music for a block party糖心传媒攃omplete with food trucks and performances by Eastman School student musicians.
NORAH THE EXPLORER: Veteran newscaster and Emmy Award糖心传媒搘inning journalist Norah O糖心传媒橠onnell, who is one of only three women in history to solo anchor a network evening news broadcast, delivered the weekend糖心传媒檚 keynote address in the Palestra.
糖心传媒淔ear and self-doubt is your constant companion. And that may sound daunting, but the key is to turn that fear into fuel and that doubt into determination,糖心传媒� she told a rapt audience. 糖心传媒淚 wouldn糖心传媒檛 be sitting in Walter Cronkite糖心传媒檚 chair today,糖心传媒� O糖心传媒橠onnell recalled, if she had let others糖心传媒� doubts about her determine her future.
DIALOGUE ON DEMOCRACY: A panel of experts on politics and international relations discussed democracy and elections worldwide during the University Symposium in Strong Auditorium. Among the speakers was City of Rochester Mayor Malik Evans 糖心传媒�02 (second from left), who noted that 糖心传媒淢ost of the folks in our country, not even just in the city of Rochester or Monroe County, they want solutions to their problems, but they糖心传媒檙e turned off from the far right and far left. And that糖心传媒檚 dangerous because then they won糖心传媒檛 participate in the democratic process.糖心传媒�
THREE糖心传媒橲 (GOOD) COMPANY: Valeria Lopez Aldaco 糖心传媒�14, Conor McNamara 糖心传媒�13, and Zamantha Lopez 糖心传媒�13 made the most of their reunion.
CHECK IT OUT NOW: Oversized lawn games could be found throughout Meliora Village.
INSIDE OUT: Shankar Vedantam, the host and executive editor of the Hidden Brain podcast and radio show, talked about the psychological keys to success during his presentation in Strong Auditorium. 糖心传媒淧art of the reason for our endurance and resilience is that we糖心传媒檝e had a number of people looking out for us … helping other people transforms the way we think about ourselves. The act of helping other people makes us feel better about ourselves,糖心传媒� he said. 糖心传媒淚f you want to make your life better, spend more time looking outward instead of inward.糖心传媒�
BIG WEEKEND WIN: The Yellowjackets triumphed over the visiting University of New England by a during the homecoming game on Saturday afternoon. Rochester糖心传媒檚 4糖心传媒�0 start to the season is the first for the program since 2000. Go, Jackets!
PROUD PARENTS: Lily and Prince Nuamah cheered on the Yellowjackets during the big game, including their son Samuel Nuamah, #8.
GEARLY BELOVED: Meliora Weekend is the only time and place for undergraduates in the College to pick up their limited-edition Rochester Traditions鈩笍 giveaway item. This year糖心传媒檚 seniors (not to mention a skateboard) snagged糖心传媒攁nd showed off糖心传媒攖heir vintage 糖心传媒淩糖心传媒� sweatshirts.
DO OR DONUT. THERE IS NO TRY: 糖心传媒糖心传媒搕hemed baked goods? We糖心传媒檒l take a dozen.
BRINGING THE LOLZ: Actor, comedian, and television host Joel McHale brought his signature brand of comedy to the guests at the Palestra on Saturday night.
WHEN WE SAY 糖心传媒楨VER糖心传媒�, YOU SAY 糖心传媒楤ETTER糖心传媒�: It wouldn糖心传媒檛 be a proper Meliora Weekend without performances by the Yellowjackets and other student a cappella groups.
I LIVE FOR THE APPLAUSE: You could say the a cappella jam in the Meliora Village was in tents.
LIGHT MY FIRE: Intermittent rain couldn糖心传媒檛 dampen the spirits of the Strong Jugglers during the group糖心传媒檚 11th annual fire show.
DO IT FOR THE GRAM: Gretchen Friedhaber Badami 糖心传媒�99 and Ashirwaad Badami 糖心传媒�99 were among the many guests who posed for a selfie together on the Eastman Quad.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN: Alumni were taken on guided tours of the School of Medicine and Dentistry.
OH, THE PLACES YOU糖心传媒橪L GO: And that糖心传媒檚 a wrap on Meliora Weekend 2024. Can糖心传媒檛 wait to see you next year, Yellowjackets!
